Direct CD "non-allocatable space"

There are two separate issues.  If you use the built in Windows XP disc writing features it will do one thing.  If you use the Roxio Easy CD Creator Direct CD to format a CD and then "drag and drop" there is another issue.  Which one are you really using.

Finally, CD-RW's are known to be "flakey" and either lose data, lose format, etc.  I quit using RW discs after losing some data. 

As far as being "read only", depending on how you finalize the CD it can make all the files read only.  But if you want to use a file or copy it back to the hard drive all you have to do is right click ont he file, select properties and then remove the read only configuration.  Finally, do not have your "only copy" of data on a CD-RW disc.

>>>Using Direct CD basic, I was able to format a CDRW and copy several files to the cd using drag and drop in explorer.

No problem here - once you have formatted the disk, you can use it as you would any other removable drive.

 

 >>>After using the cd 3 or 4 times adding files to the cd, the files have become read only files. The cd also now contains a 0k file named "non-allocatble space". Direct CD reports the status of the cd as "unrecognizable data".

Which media (brand) are you using?  What is your drive model and firmware?  Have you checked your drive for compatibility with ECDC?  How many times has the CD-RW been written to? This condition is almost always due to media and/or drive compatibility problems.

FYI -  may or may not be applicable to your specific problem:

 Direct CD (and any other standard DLA application) is independent of the medium used.  The medium can be CD-RW, CD-R or whatever.   You can add, remove, or replace files no matter what the medium. Once a CD-R disk is formatted, it can forever only be used for DLA.  A formatted CD-RW disk can also only be used for DLA unless the disk is totally erased (made blank).

You must keep track of the number of write-operations with CD-RW media.  Just as  with mag tapes, the error rate goes up past a certain number of write -operations (write-operations include deleting, erasing, and formatting)

So for example even though an erased blank CD-RW 'looks' just like a new blank CD-RW, it is not the same thing.  It has fewer writes left on it.

Things are different if the disk is written with some kind of mastering program (such as is included with XP, or using ECDC Data project, or anything else of that sort). Unless you have taken care to make a multi-session disk, it is a done deal after being written.  If the medium is CD-RW, it can be erased completely and then reused.  If it is CD-R, it's finished.

We have not noticed any particular unreliability with CD-RW media, but then we do stay with the proven brands.

Message Edited by Nick44 on 01-22-2003 01:16 PM

I am using Memorex 700mb CD-RWs.I dont know the maker of the CD drive, device manager lists it as "Standard CD-Rom drive". Model number seems to be HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8481B. I am assuming it is compatable with ECDC as it came packaged on the computer from Dell, and everything seemed to be working just fine at first. The problems began after maybe 4 or 5 writes to the cd. I cannot delete or move any files on the cd. I can add new ones, but I dont know if I am writing over any old files. All this has been done with Direct CD. I havent used easy CD creator, as I like the idea of using the cd like a floppy (easy drag and dropping). I might try another brand of cd. Thanks for all your help!

 

hi Pes825, under the folder C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\

there should be a file called udfs.sys

try renaming this to udfsx.sys

reboot your system and see if this resolves your issue.

If it doesn't, just rename it back and post back on this board. I will think of something else for you to try. thanks.

 

I quit using cdrw also after losing data. I tried different brands of cdrw's ("memorex" being the worst, would not even format) but none of them would keep working. I started using a zip drive again for drag and drop and just back up to cdr often.

Every time I had this problem, I could solve it only by rebooting.
After reboot, the disk appears normally and the "non-allocatable space" disappears